Written by experts in psycho-oncology, this book synthesizes the findings of the latest research on women's cancers to empower women to make informed choices about treatment options. Each year, hundreds of thousands of women are diagnosed with cancer in the United States alone. The total number affected is larger still, comprising siblings, parents, partners, and children of these women. In this single-volume work, an international team of experts address the physical, medical, and psychological matters that are triggered by a diagnosis of having a form of "women's cancer"—breast, cervical, endometrial, gestational, ovarian, uterine, vaginal, and vulvar being some of the more common. The handbook examines and explains each type of women's cancer, covering the specifics of incidence, diagnosis, treatment options, and more, providing an up-to-date guide for women and their families to assist in making informed choices about their treatment options. The book includes personal accounts from women who survived cancers and beat their emotional challenges, addresses myths versus realities regarding women's cancers, and covers relevant, related topics such as race, sexual orientation, religion, and cancer coping. Special attention is given to the impact of women's cancers on relationships, intimacy, and body image, as well as psychological factors such as anxiety, depression, and fear.

Written by a team of experts that includes doctors, nurses, social workers, psychologists, and chemists, this handbook focuses on the diseases that pose the greatest threat to African American women today. Topics include African American women and heart disease, sickle cell, breast cancer, diabetes, HIV and AIDS, as well as mental illness. Social issues that affect health are also examined, including poverty, homelessness, stress, racism, sexism, and treatment disparities. Two thirds of the chapters are all-new with fresh topics and information, and the remaining chapters have been completely updated.

Worldwide, cancer is responsible for one in eight deaths--more than AIDS, tuberculosis, and malaria combined. This global burden starkly illustrates the inequality between the developed and the developing world. While the majority of people living in developed countries receive timely treatment, those living in developing countries are not as fortunate and their survival rates are much lower--not only due to delays in diagnosis, but also to a lack of personnel, a paucity of treatment facilities, and the unavailability of many medications. Routine screening--a mainstay in the developed world--could greatly increase the likelihood of identifying individuals with early stage cancers and thus reduce the number of people who present with advanced disease. This book represents a critical addition to the literature of global health studies. Focusing on cervical, breast, and oral cancers, these case studies highlight innovative strategies in cancer screening in a diverse array of developing countries. The authors discuss common issues and share how obstacles--medical, economic, legal, social, and psychological--were addressed or overcome in specific settings. Each chapter offers an empirical discussion of the nature and scope of a screening program, the methodology used, and its findings, along with a candid discussion of challenges and limitations and suggestions for future efforts.

This interdisciplinary study details spiritual approaches including meditation and yoga shown to be helpful in improving physical and psychological well-being. Whether a person suffers from a psychological or physical malady, such as depression, addictions, chronic pain, cancer, or complications from pregnancy, the best practice treatments likely include one common thread: spiritual practice. From meditation and yoga to spiritual surrender and religious rituals, spiritual practices are increasingly being recognized as physically and mentally beneficial for recovering from illness and for retaining optimal health. Healing with Spiritual Practices: Proven Techniques for Disorders from Addictions and Anxiety to Cancer and Chronic Pain, edited by the director of one of the nation's best-known university institutes of spirituality and health, explains current and emerging practices, their benefits, and the growing body of research that proves them effective. Comprising chapters from expert contributors, this book will appeal to students, scholars, and other readers interested in psychology, medicine, nursing, social work, pastoral care, and related disciplines.

Gretchen Krueger's poignant narrative explores how doctors, families, and the public interpreted the experience of childhood cancer from the 1930s through the 1970s. Pairing the transformation of childhood cancer from killer to curable disease with the personal experiences of young patients and their families, Krueger illuminates the twin realities of hope and suffering. In this social history, each decade follows a family whose experience touches on key themes: possible causes, means and timing of detection, the search for curative treatment, the merit of alternative treatments, the decisions to pursue or halt therapy, the side effects of treatment, death and dying—and cure. Recounting the complex and sometimes contentious interactions among the families of children with cancer, medical researchers, physicians, advocacy organizations, the media, and policy makers, Krueger reveals that personal odyssey and clinical challenge are the simultaneous realities of childhood cancer. This engaging study will be of interest to historians, medical practitioners and researchers, and people whose lives have been altered by cancer.

Offers the best classic and current writing and research on stress and coping, including top scholars and celebrities among the contributors.

People born with one gender's sexual organs who are drawn physically, psychologically, and spiritually to life as a member of the opposite gender, are more common than is generally realized. In this unprecedented book, Heath introduces the transsexual mindset, explaining how identity discord develops and what the most recent research shows about a potential biological basis. She details the history of transsexuality, the psychological, social, and family issues transsexuals face, and the associated legal and human rights issues. Diagrams depicting the major elements in Gender Reassignment Surgery are included, as are explanations of the physiological and psychological effects of hormone therapy and associated procedures for transsexuals, their outcomes, and potential complications. Appendices offer lists of support groups and other resources for transsexual men, women, and family members, a link to a list of surgeons worldwide performing GRS, and a glossary of terms. When the movie Transamerica—about a pre-operative man in the week before he became a woman—won two Golden Globe Awards and was nominated for an Academy Award in early 2006, cheers went up around the world from the real and growing transsexual community. In fact, people born with one gender's sexual organs who are drawn physically, psychologically, and spiritually to life as a member of the opposite gender, are more common than is generally realized. Gender reassignment surgery is being performed worldwide, from Beverly Hills to New York, and from Canada to England, Switzerland, Australia, Thailand and Hong Kong. In this unprecedented book, Professor Heath introduces the transsexual mindset, explaining how identity discord develops and what the most recent research shows about a potential biological basis. She details the history of transsexuality, the psychological, social, and family issues transsexuals face, and the associated legal and human rights issues. Diagrams depicting the major elements in Gender Reassignment Surgery are included, as are explanations of the physiological and psychological effects of hormone therapy and associated procedures for transsexuals, their outcomes, and potential complications. The book covers pioneers in gender reassignment such as sexologist Harry Benjamin, M.D., and famous transsexed people including Christine Jorgenson, who made headlines worldwide in 1952 and 1953. Appendices offer lists of support groups and other resources for transsexual men, women, and family members, a link to a list of surgeons worldwide performing GRS, a glossary of transsexed terms, and a summary of the Harry Benjamin Gender Dysphoria Association, the largest international organization focused on transsexuality.

Women's soap opera viewing has long been thought of by feminists and nonfeminists as an unproductive waste of time. Blumenthal takes the opposing view, arguing that women's indulgence in these programs is actually liberating. In overcoming the social opposition to the stigma attached to the feminine content and style, and engaging in soap opera viewing, women celebrate their femininity, particularly their gendered identification with romance, relationality, intuitiveness, talkativeness, and other aspects of emotionality. This book will be of interest to academics in the areas of sociology, women's studies, and media studies.

The author explains in detail the risks, rewards, myths, and realities of weight loss surgery, and describes how the procedure is done, recovery times, and insurance issues.